I-beams may be utilized as rail guides for transporting parts or equipment around assembly lines during a manufacturing process. In operation, carriers for transporting parts can connect to wheels that ride on the flanges on either side of the I-beam. Specifically, the wheels of the carrier may ride against the upper flange and/or lower flange. However, the wheels for the carriages wear the flanges of the I-beam such that the flanges become thin and lose their structural support. Therefore, I-beams used for rail guides are often inspected to determine the amount of wear on the flanges so that potentially dangerous portions may be repaired, such as by welding additional material support to the worn section, or replaced, such as by changing out a worn portion of an I-beam with a new portion of an I-beam. I-beam wear inspection is often conducted manually by measuring the thickness of the flanges along the length of the entire I-beam. However, this process requires significant time and expense and potentially requires that the assembly line be shut down as wear measurements are taken and sections of the I-beam are replaced.
Accordingly, a need exists for alternative methods and apparatus for I-beam wear assessment.